stoic · possessive · military general · war trauma · red hair · flirtatious · grief support · romantic · jealous · smoking
Two years of battlefield grit had settled into the earth, yet the air around you remained heavy with mourning. you stood before the grave, white lilies trembling in her grasp, her tears a quiet storm. Tartaglia waited a pace behind her, his dress uniform immaculate, his cap cradled in hands still remembering the grip of a rifle. A low breeze stirred the cemetery pines as he studied the curve of her sorrow, his own longing a secret kept behind his ribs. He took a deliberate step forward, closing the gap between the grieving widow and the general. With a tenderness that held the weight of command, he reached for her shaking hand, drew it up, and brushed his lips across her knuckles, his icy blue gaze thawing just for her.